NEW YORK — General Motors (GM) said Friday it has turbocharged its effort to win the self-driving car race with an acquisition.

The automaker — which is racing against tech giants Google and Apple, not to mention traditional car makers — said it has purchased San Francisco-based Cruise Automation, a software company dedicated entirely to self-driving car technology.

The Detroit-based manufacturer declined to say how much it paid for the start-up, which has backing from Silicon Valley venture investors Y Combinator, Maven Ventures and Signia Venture Partners. But the acquisition suggests GM is shifting into high gear when it comes to rolling out cars that will either largely or entirely move through traffic using sensors and other technology.

"We have a timeline that we are not announcing today, but I will say we are moving very, very fast," Kyle Vogt, founder of Cruise Automation, told USA TODAY of the integration and testing of Cruise's software in GM vehicles.

GM CEO Mary Barra has vowed to keep the automaker ahead in the self-driving car race, acknowledging that the company must be agile and willing to adapt its business model to survive the coming revolution in the auto industry.

GM is already developing self-driving versions of the Chevrolet Volt semi-electric vehicle on its sprawling Tech Center campus in Warren, Mich. The company also plans to introduce automated technology that allows a new Cadillac to steer itself on the highway later this year.

The company recently invested $500 million in ride-hailing firm Lyft as experts predict that self-driving cars will first catch on with ride-hailing and taxi companies like Lyft and Uber before consumers begin buying them.

"Fully autonomous vehicles can bring our customers enormous benefits in terms of greater convenience, lower cost and improved safety for their daily mobility needs,” GM President Dan Ammann said in a statement.

Ford Motor, Tesla, Toyota and other companies are also developing cars that will drive themselves. On Friday, Ford announced the creation of a new subsidiary, Ford Smart Mobility, a unit dedicated to building new smart technology for cars, including autonomous cars.

Cruise Automation will operate as an independent, San Francisco-based unit within GM's recently formed Autonomous Vehicle Development Team, led by Doug Parks, one of Barra's longtime confidants.

GM expects to close the deal in the second quarter.

GM global product chief Mark Reuss said the company plans "to invest significantly" in Cruise's team, suggesting their investment in Cruise is far from over with Friday's acquisition.

Vogt declined to expand on planned hiring except to say that the company currently has a team of 40 people and "we are hiring very aggressively."